944ajt

I'm looking for reviews or experiences with the Kumho Ecsta AST tires. They come in a 225/50/15 set-up which is just about perfect for my 15x7 and 15x8 Fuchs wheels I'm looking to put on my NA 944.

The only reviews I can find of these are on some sort of side-by-side type of vehicle. Any body have experience with them on a 944? They seem like a great everyday tire that has a bit more performance than a regular all-season. Doesn't hurt that they're priced nicely and the tread looks pretty good too.

Any help?

MikePellegrini

I had the exact same tires on gold Fuchs wheels (225 front and back). Got about 20,000 miles over 10 years on them. They wore really well. They weren't as grippy as I would have liked, but the car did perform well

In 2022, I replaced them with General Altimax RT143 (215 front and 225, back). I would have bought the Kumho's again, but they weren't available just then.

It seems like it's getting really tough to find any kind of wide 15" tires.

944ajt

Thanks for the info. That seems like a really durable tire too.

​They seem to be in stock and available everywhere, so I'm going to likely get them soon. Excited to try them out.

V2Rocket

late last year i got a new set of Uniroyal TigerPaw all seasons. they were the only somewhat performance type tire i could find for any kind of reasonable price that came in 215/60 and 225/60 to fit my wheels. i have been pleased with them. they also had an $80 rebate at the time which helped the decision..

side note - unless your car is lowered quite a bit, 225/50R15 tires look like tiny donuts on a 944 body.

Tom R.

My buddy can get me a coupon for Goodyears. Great, the 968 needs tires. Goodyear no longer makes the 225/16 tire. Pretty soon our choices will be Coker or Coker, and whatever compound that is. .

944ajt

22.5mm difference it looks like. I don't believe my car is lowered. Do you have any scraping or anything? I think I'd probably go with the 225/60/15 both front and rear to get as much meat on those wheels as possible.

Looks like there's still rebates available for them too - thanks for the heads up on the potentially good deal!

V2Rocket

a long time ago i had 225/50 on the front of my car and they looked tiny. i put 1.25" lowering springs on which helped, but it did scrape on some driveways.
i was happy to go back to 215/60 fronts and spring spacers...

Tony5

I've got those tires. They are very okay. I've had better and I've had worse. Can't comment on wear yet, but I've got a lot of negative camber so I'm not expecting much.
Probably great for daily driver duty.
They are 225/50r15, and the car is lowered about 1.2" and the gap is a hair more than I'd like. I haven't changed ride height because I'm planning on ending up with 225/50 16" in the future which will eliminate .5" of the gap and be about perfect.

Tom R.

I am confused. If you add a taller tire you are raising the center of gravity. I assume you lowered it to lower the center of gravity and improve the handling, now for looks you are raising it?

Tony5

To start from the beginning, I lowered the car 1.2-1.4" via spring and t bars. This was done for a higher spring rate, lower center of gravity, and aesthetics. Then the 225/50 tires were put on, mostly because they were available, and that lowered the car about .8", for a total of 2"ish lowered.
I'm willing to gain back .5" of that ride height with a tire size change, because those sizes are actually available in multiple different treads and compounds, also my tire circumference will be closer to what my speedo is calibrated for, and the aesthetic improvement is a bonus. If I can feel anything detrimental with the .5" increase in center of gravity I'll go back to the drawing board, but I kinda doubt it.

DSMblue

So you are changing wheels as well as tires?

Tony5

Me? Or the OP?
I do intend to go from 15" to 16" eventually. More for increased tire options than anything.

944ajt

Yeah - My 944 originally came with some 15x7 phone dials. I sourced some authentic Fuchs in 15x7 and 15x8 with dates codes that match my 944 (Sweet!). The offset on the rear should be enough to give it a really nice stance/fitment (~10mm offset in the rear).

DSMblue

You - sorry for the confusion. I have both 15's and 16's for my 944, and options for 16's are even limited these days. Seems like all the wheels are 18 and larger anymore, which doesn't suit the car at all.

jeyjey

P6000 are still available in 215/60R15, and the Kumho Ecsta's are also available in 225/60R15. I really think a 60-series sidewall is going to look better than a 50-series.